Destroy
Destroy verb - To bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of.
Usage example: their poor scores on the final exam destroyed any chance they might have had to pass the course
Shatter is a synonym for destroy in demolish topic. In some cases you can use "Shatter" instead a verb "Destroy", when it comes to topics like help, break, ruin, wreck. popular alternative
Shatter
Shatter verb - To bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of.
Usage example: tried to restore their shattered hopes
Destroy is a synonym for shatter in help topic. You can use "Destroy" instead a verb "Shatter", if it concerns topics such as break, demolish, weaken, break into small pieces. popular alternative
Nearby Words: shattered, shattering
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Rage Against the Reflection: The ending to "Funhouse" has Chad shatter a mirror that reads, "The only way out is to face yourself" which helps him destroy his anger against his family problems.
Source: Series / The Haunting Hour -
If Megatron takes the energon wealth of this world unopposed, he will begin a war that will destroy Cybertron and shatter galaxies, until only one side survives.
Source: Western Animation / Beast Wars - As such, the touch of any iron—even blood—is extremely painful to it, and the merest sword can shatter it easily, though the resulting explosion might well destroy the world.
Source: Cold Iron
Cite this Source
Shatter and Destroy. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/destroy/shatter
Destroy & Shatter. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/destroy/shatter>.
Shatter or Destroy. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/destroy/shatter.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "destroy" and "shatter" have occurred on timeline